1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input device, and a multi-function peripheral provided with the input device.
2. Description of Related Art
There is known an input device including mechanical switches such as pushbuttons and sliding keys, and a CPU (central processing unit) which is connected to the pushbuttons and sliding keys and configured to detect pressing operations of the pushbuttons and sliding operations of the sliding keys.
JP-2008-105333 A discloses (in paragraph [0045] and FIGS. 1 and 2, in particular) a printer 1 including such an input device provided with a power-on pushbutton 12 disposed on a main body housing, and a control portion 41 configured to detect a pressing operation of the power-on pushbutton 12 for power application to the printer 1.
The mechanical switches described above tend to be defective due to contamination with dust and dirt deposited on and around them. In view of this drawback, there has been proposed an input device provided with an electrostatic sensor.
The electrostatic sensor includes electrodes, and a detecting IC (integrated circuit) which is connected to the electrodes to detect a change of an electrostatic capacity induced between each finger-operated electrode and a finger of the operator which has approached or touched the electrode. The electrostatic sensor generates an electric signal corresponding to the change of the electrostatic capacity, so that the CPU can recognize or determine that the finger has approached or touched the electrode.
In the input device provided with the electrostatic sensor described above, however, a sliding action of the operator's finger in one of opposite directions along which a plurality of electrodes are arranged is detected by the detecting IC which is connected to the electrodes and which detects a change of the electrostatic capacity inducted between each electrode and the finger. Namely, the plurality of electrodes and the detecting IC must be connected to each other, leading to a problem of complicated arrangement of the electrostatic sensors.